Luminaire bracket



Oct. 14, 1969 KUN s. LIM ETAL LUMINAIRE BRACKET Filed April 10, 1967INVENTORE' Kum S- UM BY EDWARD Cfiaaem K ATTORN EYS Ogt. 14, 1969 KUN s.LIM ETAL 3,473,017

LUMINAIRE BRACKET Filed April 10, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 V", INVENTORI.

Ku- S. LIM u BY EDWARD 0n BERGEN AIEORNEYS United States Patent3,473,017 LUMINAIRE BRACKET Kun S. Lim, Oakland, and Edward C. Bergen,Orinda,

'Calif., assignors to Wellrnade Metal Products Company, Oakland, Calif.,a corporation of California Filed Apr. 10, 1967, Ser. No. 629,662 Int.Cl. F21s 3/02 U.S. Cl. 240--73 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Aluminaire assembly adapted to be mounted on a roadway side or divisionbarrier for providing low level illumination of the roadway. Eachassembly includes an elongated housing having a front lense andenclosing a fluorescent lamp. A plurality of such housings are adaptedto be mounted in end to end relation longitudinally of the roadwaybarrier. Brackets for securing these luminaire housings to the roadwaybarrier are also mounted in end to end relation and define a continuouschannel beneath the housings which provides an enclosed raceway for theluminaire power cables. The housings are secured to the brackets by aquick-release catch mechanism which facilitates release and changing ofthe individual housings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally toluminaires for lighting large areas such as roadways and is moreparticularly directed to a bracket for securing luminaires to a roadwaybarrier or other mounting surface and which also provides a raceway forthe luminaire power cables.

In the illumination of roadways of, for example, freeways or bridges, itis often preferable that the illumination means be at a level relativelyclose to the road, e.g., slightly below the normal eye level of a driverof a motor vehicle. It is found that this positioning of theillumination means results in brighter and fuller illumination of theroadway than does conventional overhead lighting, and yet reduces theglare to vehicle drivers. Roadway luminaires for this type ofillumination are commonly mounted on roadway barriers, such as themedian barrier between lanes of oppositely directed traffic or the siderails of a roadway. These luminaires are usually elongated and aremounted in end to end abutting relationship to provide continuousillumination of the roadway.

It is to be appreciated that to provide power for the illuminationsources of this type of luminaire, cables or wires must lead to each ofthe luminaires. Thus, some means for accommodating the cables along thelength of the barrier must be provided, and it is preferable that suchmeans enclose the cables in a manner protecting them from the elements.If when a roadway barrier is being constructed it is contemplated thatluminaires of this type will be installed on it, a wireway or racewayfor the cables can be built into the barrier as a part thereof. Mostexisting barriers, however, do not include a raceway for luminaire powercables, although it is desirable to be able to substitute this type ofluminaire for the overhead lights now provided on most existingroadways. Moreover, the space available on many existing barriers is notsufiicient to permit mounting of both a wireway and luminaire thereon.Thus, heretofore it has not always been practical to convert existingoverhead lighting arrangements to low level lighting. It should be notedthat the luminaire housings themselves cannot be used as a wireway sinceit is desirable to be able to remove or replace each luminaireindependent of the others should one become damaged or otherwise in needof repair.

3,473,017 Patented Oct. 14, 1969 ice SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Theinstant invention permits luminaires of this type to be installed onexisting roadway barriers irrespective of whether such barriers haveraceways. The brackets for securing the luminaires to the barrier areadapted, in combination with the luminaires, to provide a continuousraceway from the luminaire cables. More particularly, each bracketincludes a channel member adapted to accommodate the power cables andhaving means for securing a luminaire over its mouth to define anenclosed raceway. The channel member of each bracket meets with thechannel member of the adjacent brackets to provide continuity of theraceway for the length of the luminaire assembly.

The combined bracket-raceway provides the luminaire assembly as agenerally self-contained unit. The unit takes up only a minimum amountof space and obviates the necessity of modifying existing roadwaybarriers for the mounting of the low-level roadway luminaires.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING With reference to the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a roadway median barrier havingluminaires mounted thereon by a combined bracket and raceway of theinvention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken on a plane indicatedby line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 illustrating constructional details of theluminaire and bracket of the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary rear view of a joint between two luminairesillustrating the manner in which adjacent brackets are joined to providea continuous raceway between them;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view illustrating aluminaire and a bracket of the invention exploded from one another;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG- URE 2 of anotherluminaire and bracket of the invention; and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary front elevation view of a joint between twoluminaires and brackets of the embodiment of FIGURE 5 illustrating themanner in which adjacent brackets of this embodiment are joined toprovide a continuous raceway between them.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIGURES 1-4,and particularly to FIGURE 1, a roadway barrier 11 is shown whichincludes a continuous beam 12 supported on a base 14 by a plurality ofupwardly extending longitudinally spaced posts 16. The illustratedexemplary barrier 11 is a median barrier adapted to be positionedbetween lanes of oppositely directed traific. From the followingdescription, it will be appreciated, however, that the invention isequally applicable to roadway side barriers and other forms andconfigurations of barriers.

Mounted on beam 12 are a plurality of longitudinally aligned, adjacentluminaire units 17. Since barrier 11 is a median barrier, two sets ofluminaire units are provided, one on each side of the barrier. Eachluminaire includes a light housing 18 having at one side thereof aplurality of longitudinally spaced light transmitting lenses 19 ofplastic or the like backed by a collimator 21 of preferably honeycombmaterial. The top of each housing is a hinged lid 22 which may bepivoted open to provide ready access to the interior of the housing.This facilitates replacement of the illumination source which can be afluorescent lamp 23 having ballast 24. Wires 26 are suitably secured tobranch circuit conductor cables 25 within the raceway such as by meansof split compression connectors and extend upwardly through an aperture27 in the bottom of housing 18. Such Wires 26 are releasably connectedto a terminal block 28 mounted on the housing bottom, and wires 29connect the terminal block to ballast 24. Because wires 26 arereleasably connected to terminal block 28, the luminaire can be easilyfreed from its connection to the cables in the raceway.

With reference to FIGURE 3, it will be seen that at the joint 31 betweenadjacent luminaires, a small space is provided to accommodate thermalexpansion and contraction of such luminaires. The joint itself iscovered by a strap 32 having a quick release catch 33 facilitatingseparation of one luminaire from the other to permit any one luminaireto be removed from the barrier without disturbing the adjacent ones.

It is to be appreciated that as described to this point, the luminaireassembly is generally conventional. This type of luminaire is alsodescribed in Patent No. 3,387,- 126 issued on Jan. 4, 1968, to Kun S.Lim, one of the present co-applicants, for Roadway Luminaire.

In accordance with the invention, luminaires 17 are secured to barrier11 by novel brackets generally referred to by the reference numeral 36.Each bracket 36 includes a channel member 37 which extends forsubstantially the full length of the luminaire and is communicablyconnected with the channel member 37 of a bracket 36 for thelongitudinally adjacent luminaire 17'. The lateral cross sectional areaenclosed by each channel member 37 is sufficiently large, e.g., squareinches, for the channel member to accommodate a plurality of luminairepower cables. The mouth 38 of each channel member faces upwardly and aluminaire is secured over such month in covering relationship to therebydefine with the channel member an enclosed raceway for the power cables.More particularly, at each longitudinal edge of the channel memberadjacent its mouth there is provided means for securing the luminairehousing to the bracket over the channel. At the forward edge of thebracket such means includes an inwardly curved arcuate flange 39 whichextends for the full length of the bracket. Such flange engages with alip 41 which extends downwardly and outwardly from the luminaire housingadjacent the forward edge of its bottom. Such lip extends longitudinallyof the housing for substantially its full length so that when thearcuate flange 39 and such lip 41 are interengaged, a front closure sealfor the raceway is provided for substantially the full length of theluminaire. The rear edge of the bracket has a generally U-shaped gutter42 which extends for the full length of such edge. A complementaryL-shaped flange 43 adapted to fit within gutter 42 projects downwardlyand outwardly from luminaire housing 17 adjacent the rear edge of itsbottom. Flange 43 also extends for the full length of the housing sothat when such flange is engaged with gutter 42, a closure seal for theraceway is also provided at the rear side thereof to protect cablestherein from the elements.

To provide for quick release securance of each luminaire housing to abracket 36, a set screw 44 threadably passes through outer flange 46 ofgutter 42 and engages the shank of L-shaped flange 43. A jam nut 47 onthe free end of set screw 44 locks such screw in position. In thedepicted embodiment wherein each bracket 36 is substantially coextensivewith one luminaire 17 at least two of the set screws 44 are provided foreach bracket with one adjacent each end of the luminaire for securingthe luminaire housing to the bracket.

The manner by which the above described complementary engaging elementsof the bracket and housing and the set screws provide for quick releaseof the luminaire housing should be apparent from the above and is fullydescribed in the previously mentioned Patent No. 3,387,126. The setscrews employed with the respective brackets can be dissimilar asdescribed in such patent to provide positive locking securance at oneend of each housing and longitudinal slippage at the other so thatthermal expansion and contraction of the housing is accommodated.

It is to be appreciated that while in the embodiment being described therespective luminaire housings and brackets are substantiallycoextensive, this is not neces sary. Several brackets could be used foreach housing, or several housings could be mounted on each bracket, solong as the brackets are longitudinally adjacent one another with thechannel members thereof communicably connected so as to provide thecontinuous raceway. FIG- URE 3 depicts the manner in which the racewaydefined by two adjacent brackets is continued at the joint between suchbrackets. An insert 51 bridges the gap between adjacent brackets 37 and37' and has its respective ends received Within the ends of the twochannel members 37 and 37. Insert 51 has a surface configuration whichconforms to the interior surface configuration of such channel membersat their ends so as to act as a continuation of the raceway between suchchannel members. One end of such insert is suitably rigidly securedwithin one of the channel members such as by bolt 52 securing it tochannel member 37 So that thermal expansion and contraction between thebrackets will be accommodated, the other end of the insert is slidablyconnected to the other channel member, channel member 37, such as bymeans of a flexible grounding strap 53 secured between them by bolts 54and 55.

The base of each bracket 36 is adapted for securance of the bracket toroadway barrier 11 or other suitable mounting surface. Moreparticularly, the base of channel member 37 is formed with two parallel,outwardly pro jecting gutter portions 56. Bolt holes 57 extend throughthe bracket base at suitably longitudinally spaced intervals along suchgutter portions and bolts 58 extend through such holes and arethreadably received within inserts 59 in the barrier to provide forsecurance of the bracket to such barrier. Suitable sealing washers 61 oneach bolt adjacent its associated hole 57 prevent liquid seepage orleakage into the raceway.

The rear side wall of the channel member of each bracket extendsupwardly further than the front wall thereof so that the mounting of theluminaire will be such that light emanating therefrom will be directeddownward at a slight angle. It Will be appreciated that thisconstruction can be varied depending on the particular surfaceconfiguration of the barrier or other mounting surface to which theluminaire is to be secured and depending upon the requirements attendantto the particular use to which the luminaire is to be put.

FIGURES 5 and 6 depict another preferred embodiment of the invention inwhich the raceway defined by the luminaire bracket is sufficiently largeto accommodate the ballast for the lamps. This removal of the ballastfrom inside the luminaire housing allows the lamps to be placed in eachhousing end-to-end closely adjacent one another. Thus, a continuouslongitudinal beam of light will emanate from the luminaires and noshadows will be caused by the ballast. With particular reference toFIGURE 5, a luminaire assembly of this embodiment of the invention isgenerally referred to by the reference numeral 61. Assembly 61 ismounted on a roadway side barrier 62 by means of angle brackets 63 whichare secured to the rear side of barrier 62 by means of bolt and nutassemblies 64. Desirably, two angle brackets 63 are provided for eachluminaire assembly 61, one adjacent each end thereof. Barrier 62 isshown as being of the side rail type to exemplify a different form andconfiguration of barrier on which the invention permits the installationof low level luminaires.

The upper surface 66 of the outwardly projecting flange 67 of each anglebracket 63 is generally planar and is coextensive with the upper surfaceof side rail barrier 62. Such flange has two threaded apertures forreceiving the threaded end of bolts 69 which mount luminaire bracket 71of this embodiment to the angle bracket 63.

As previously mentioned, channel member 72 of luminaire bracket 71defines a raceway of a sufiiciently large cross section to accommodatethe ballast 73 for a fluorescent lamp 74 of each luminaire. Moreparticularly, the rear side wall 76 of such channel member is extendedupward to a much greater height than the corresponding rear side wall onthe previously described embodiment. The base 77 of each luminairehousing 78 is adapted to extend horizontally inward from the upper edgeof bracket wall 76 and then angularly downward to meet the relativelyshort front side wall 79 of the bracket channel member 72. Thehorizontal portion of luminaire housing base 77 provides a platform uponwhich are vertically mounted by suitable bolt and nut assemblies 81vertical end supporting plates 82 for the lamps. Ballast 73 for eachlamp 74 depends from the underside of the platform portion of base 77into the raceway defined by the channel member 72. A suitable aperture83 in base 77 provides an opening for passage of power wires 84 from theballast 73 to the lamp 74. As mentioned before, the removal of ballast73 from the luminaire housing and placement thereof within the racewaypermits longitudinally adjacent lamps 74 to be placed close to oneanother in end-to-end relationship to provide a generally continuousbeam in the longitudinal direction and eliminate ballast shadows. Theprovision of the downwardly extending angular portion of the baseassures that the light housing lense 86 can be of a comparable size tothat of the previous embodiment without adding to the total height ofthe luminaire or raising such luminaire appreciably above side barrier62.

Terminal block 87 for releasably connecting the wires 88 from branchcircuit power cables 89 to wires 91 leading into ballast 73 is alsomounted in the raceway. More particularly, screws 92 secure such blockto the base of channel member 72 interiorly thereof. The placement ofthe terminal block within the raceway facilitates quick removal ofluminaire housing 78 from its bracket by eliminating the necessity ofopening the hinged lid 93 of the luminaire housing to release theelectrical connection of the lamps from the cables within the raceway.To effect release of such connection, it is only necessary to releasewires 91 from the terminal block once the housing has been raised fromthe bracket.

It will be appreciated that ballast 73 generates heat during lampoperation. For this reason it is desirable to hold branch circuit cables89 away from such ballast and for this purpose a cable retainer strap 94is provided at the location of each ballast.

The complementary engaging portions by which the luminaire housing ofthis embodiment is secured to the bracket over the mouth of the channelmember 72 are basically the same as in the previously describedembodiment. For this reason they will not be described in detail.However, it should be noted that in this embodiment the U-shapedgutter-L-shaped flange engaging elements are at the front of theassembly rather than at the rear as in the first embodiment, and theinwardly directed flangeoutwardly directed lip elements are at the rearthereof.

With reference to FIGURE 6, it will be seen that this embodiment doesnot include an insert comparable to the insert 51 of the previousembodiment for communicably connecting adjacent brackets to providecontinuity of the raceway. In the instant embodiment the strap 96 forcovering the joint between adjacent luminaires encircles both theluminaire housing and the bracket to thereby bridge the gap between theadjacent brackets as well as between the adjacent luminaires. Thus strap96 communicably connects the channel member of one bracket to that ofthe other and eliminates the necessity for an insert. It will be notedthat to permit the strap 96 to encircle both the luminaire housing andthe bracket, the exterior surface configuration of the bracket has asmooth contour relative to the bracket of the previously describedembodiment and is an extension of the surface configuration of theluminaire housing. More particularly, the outer surface of the luminairehousing and bracket mate with one another at the joint, and the bracketdoes not include wells or gutter portions at its base. Instead of thewells or gutter portions of the previously described embodiment to spacethe base of the bracket from the barrier to which it is mounted, spacingwashers 97 are provided on mounting bolt 69 between such bracket and theangle bracket 63.

Strap 96 is releasably secured around the joint between the adjacentluminaire assemblies by means of a bolt and nut assembly 98. This boltand nut assembly, as well as the set screws 99 for securing theluminaire housings to the brackets, are provided at the front of theluminaire. Individual luminaire housings can then be removed andreplaced without it being necessary to have access to the rear of theassembly. This is particularly advantageous when the luminaire ismounted on the side rail barrier of, for example, a bridge on whichaccess to the far side of the barrier is limited.

To ground adjacent luminaire brackets of this embodiment to one another,a sheathed grounding wire 101 passes through collars 102 of groundinglugs 103 secured to each luminaire adjacent the joint. The ends of theground cable are bared of sheathing and are secured in electricalcontact to the respective brackets such as by means of screws 104 whichsecure the grounding lugs to the brackets.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a luminaire comprising a luminaire housing havingalong a side thereof a light transmitting lens and enclosing a source ofillumination positioned therein to transmit light through said lens; abracket for securing said luminaire to a mounting surface, said bracketcomprising a channel member having means for detachably securing saidluminaire over its mouth to define an enclosed raceway for power cablesand the like for said source of illumination, said channel member beingadapted opposite said mouth for securance to said mounting surface; andmeans releasably connecting a power cable in said channel member withsaid source of illumination in said luminaire to provide power to saidsource, said luminaire thereby being separable from said bracket and thepower cables therein for maintenance and replacement.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said channel member iscommunicably connected with a similar channel member of a secondluminaire bracket longitudinally adjacent the first bracket, saidchannel members defining a continuous power cable raceway for saidluminaire.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein the connection between the channelmember of said bracket and said similar channel member is by means of aninsert which conforms to the interior surface of said channel members attheir adjacent ends and bridges the gap between them to provide acontinuation of said raceway between said brackets.

4. The combination of claim 2 wherein the connection between the channelmember of said bracket and said similar channel member is by means of astrap which encircles said luminaire and said brackets at their adjacentends and bridges the gap between said channel member and said similarchannel member to provide a continuation of said raceway between saidbrackets.

5. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means for releasablyconnecting said power cable in said channel member with said source ofillumination comprises a terminal block mounted within said racewayreleasably electrically connecting said power cables to power wires forthe source.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said channel member is of asuflicient cross sectional area to enclose within said raceway a ballastfor a fluorescent lamp in said luminaire providing said illuminationsource, and said power wires lead to said ballast which is secured tothe base of said luminaire.

7. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means for securing aluminaire over the mouth of said channel member includes a pair ofelements with each being adjacent one of the longitudinal edges of saidchannel member and adapted to interengage with complementary elements ona luminaire, said elements extending for the full length of said channelmember and providing a closure seal between the channel member and theluminaire for the raceway.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein said means for detachably securinga luminaire over the mouth of said channel member further includes meansfor providing quick release of said luminaire from said bracket.

9. The combination of claim 7 wherein one of said pair of elements is aninwardly projecting flange extending for the length of said bracket andadapted to engage with a lip projecting outwardly from adjacent onelongitudinal edge of the base of a luminaire housing and the other ofsaid pair of elements is a U-shaped gutter extending the length of saidbracket and adapted to receive an L- shaped flange extending downwardfrom adjacent the other longitudinal edge of said luminaire housingbase, and the outer wall of said U-shaped gutter threadably receives aset screw for engagement with the shank of said L-shaped flange whensaid flange and gutter are interengaged.

10. The combination of claim 7 wherein said channel member iscommunicably connected with a similar channel member of a secondluminaire bracket longitudinally adjacent the first bracket, saidchannel members defining a continuous power cable raceway for saidluminaire and the channel member of said second luminaire bracketincluding a pair of elements with each being adjacent one of thelongitudinal edges of said channel member and adapted to interengagewith complementary elements on a luminaire to secure such luminaire overthe mouth of said channel member.

11. The combination of claim 10 wherein the connection between thechannel member of said bracket and said similar channel member is bymeans of an insert which conforms to the interior surface of saidchannel members at their adjacent ends and bridges the gap between themto provide a continuation of said raceway between said brackets.

12. The combination of claim 7 wherein the connection between thechannel member of said bracket and said similar channel member is bymeans of a strap which encircles said luminaire and said brackets attheir adjacent ends and bridges the gap between said channel member andsaid similar channel member to provide a continuation of said racewaybetween said bracket.

13. The combination of claim 7 wherein said means for releasablyconnecting said power cables in said channel member with said source ofillumination comprises a terminal block mounted within said racewayreleasably electrically connecting said power cables to power wires forthe source.

14. The combination of claim 13 wherein said channel member is of asufficient cross sectional area to enclose within said raceway a ballastfor a lamp in said luminaire providing said illumination source, andsaid power wires lead to said ballast which is secured to the base ofsaid luminaire.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1964 Foulds 240-9 XR 8/1965Siegel 24073 US. Cl. X.R. 2402, 1.2

